Grand Prizes 2015

This issue dedicated to the Princess of Asturias Awards is being brought into circulation in a Premium Sheet format under the title Grand Prizes. The stamp features the official portrait of Doña Leonor de Borbón y Ortiz, Princess of Asturias, set against the Campoamor Theatre in Oviedo.

This is the first year that Doña Leonor de Borbón y Ortiz, born in Madrid on 31 October 2005, holds the honorary presidency of the Princess of Asturias Foundation. The institution aims to: “Contribute to extolling and promoting those scientific, cultural and humanistic values that form part of the universal heritage." It convenes the awards each year in order to: “Reward the scientific, technical, cultural, social and humanistic work done by individuals, institutions and groups thereof.” They are granted in eight categories: Arts, Letters, Social Sciences, Communication and Humanities, Technical and Scientific Research, International Cooperation, Concord and Sports.

The Princess of Asturias Awards are presented at the Campoamor Theatre in Oviedo and include a diploma, a Joan Miró sculpture which is included in the design of the Premium Sheet, a large cash prize and an insignia with the Foundation's crest.

The Princess of Asturias Foundation, known as the Prince of Asturias Foundation until 2014, was born in 1980, and the first awards were presented the following year. From 1981 to 2013 it was presided over by Don Felipe de Borbón y Grecia, then Prince of Asturias, and the 2014 edition was attended by Felipe VI, now King. That same year, with his daughter Doña Leonor de Borbón becoming the Princess of Asturias, he approved the name change.

The Princess of Asturias Awards enjoy enormous international prestige. In 2005, to celebrate the foundation's 25th anniversary, UNESCO made a universal declaration recognising: “The exceptional contribution of the Awards to World Heritage.” The winners in the different categories include renowned physicists, mathematicians, scientists, architects, athletes and writers.